Dust Blowing Off West Coast of Africa – March 12th, 2012

Dust blows off the west coast of Africa, and over the Atlantic Ocean. The main image focuses on the dust as it blows westward over southern Mauritania, Senegal, the Gambia and Guinea Bissau, while the detail image shows an S-shaped plume of dust blowing southwestward and then curving counter-clockwise to the northeast.

The dust has not yet reached as far north as the Bay of Arguin, easily identifiable as a green bay on the coast of Mauritania. The green color is due to the growth of phytoplankton in the bay’s waters.